


No One In the World(I’m alone)

by Idontneedyouanymore



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Archie Is a bit slow, Bad Parent FP Jones II, Bisexual Archie Andrews, Bisexual Betty Cooper, Bisexual Veronica Lodge, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Explicit Sexual Content, Gay Jughead Jones, Gay Male Character, Hard of Hearing Jughead Jones, He isn’t the most obvious person in the world., Homophobia, Hurt Jughead Jones, Hurt/Comfort, In later chapters - Freeform, Jughead Jones Needs a Hug, M/M, Minor Betty Cooper/Veronica Lodge, Non supportive parent, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Sexual Abuse, Physical Abuse, Self-Harm, Sisters of Quiet Mercy Group Home (Riverdale), Traumatized Jughead Jones, Worried Archie Andrews, Yikes, okay that’s enough
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-14 10:15:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19271188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idontneedyouanymore/pseuds/Idontneedyouanymore
Summary: Jughead Jones doesn’t have to most glamorous life. He’s been through a tough time in the past few months, and the abuse from his father doesn’t make it easier. The homophobic remarks don’t make coming out easier, and his father sends him away over the summer to the Sisters Of Quite Mercy Group Home. Their underground Conversion Camp was home to him, and the abuse he experienced there was horrifying. He’s falling into a worsening depression and the suicidal thoughts plague him.New kid Archie Andrews has Jughead lovestruck, but they get off to quite the rocky start.Can Archie really help the quiet raven haired boy, or is he too late like everyone else?





	1. Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Please head the warnings of this. Be careful when reading and stay safe loves. Someone out there cares.  
> Please enjoy. I know these are dark topics, and that’s why I cation reading this if you are dealing with anything in this story.

He had to do everything in his power not to freak out like a fangirl, but oh gosh, the Archie Andrews just asked him out on a date. Like an actual date! He was tempted to go home and yell into his pillow, but his dad would become angry and most likely get a hit in there somewhere, but that wasn’t important right now, what’s important is that fact that Archie asked him out. Him! The lone loser Jughead Jones, and Oh gosh was he excited for this. He couldn’t believe what was happening, and him being his clumsy self, almost fell down the stairs leading out of the high school. His smile wide and full for the first time in months, and his head held a little bit higher than normal.

Maybe he really was worth something.

The day had started out normal, well, Jug’s normal. He slept through his alarm clock on accident and his dad came in the door screaming about how he was a waste of breath and time, and that he needed to shut the fuck up. Jughead didn’t bother to say anything back, just reached over to the old alarm clock and turned it off. Talking back to his dad never got him anywhere, plus, he just got back from being at the Sister’s Of Quiet Mercey over the summer, he wasn’t about to mess up and get sent back to their awful conversion camp in the muggy basement of the place. Honestly, he was expecting coming out to go a bit better than how it did. He didn’t think that it would be great, and he knew that his dad would at least give him one bruise for the whole situation. But, he hadn’t meant to be gay or anything, he tried to change himself, but nothing worked.

He was hopeless.

Now, his dad sending him away, that was a shock. He didn’t even know that there were conversion camps out there still, but apparently there was and he got to go to one for three months. Throughout the days, he tried to look on the good side, at least he was away from his dad and didn’t have to put up with his abuse from day to day. That was always good. He hadn’t expected the abuse to transfer over to the camp, that was a shocker. He didn’t think that they would make being gay painful, or whatever they called it. Being gay wasn’t painful, that was a load of shit, but what they did to him in there, that was painful. There was a long stretch of days that he considered killing himself. It seemed like a brilliant idea, and there were plenty of ways to do it at the Sisters. He had it all planned out, but he lost track of the days and he was released back to his father just in time for school to start. He never got the chance, he never got to say goodbye to his life without anyone bugging him about it. Gosh, he wishes he got a hit on the guy that raped him in there, that would’ve made him feel a bit better.

No such luck though, but considering his luck, he should have seen that one coming from a mile away.

Getting back to school made him feel a little more alive, it gave him something to work on and accomplish. He had something to do and something to put time and effort into, it made him a little happier, and when he got good grades, he didn’t feel so worthless anymore.  
The bullies were still there and they bugged him constantly, but after this summer, it really felt like nothing at all.

He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.  
There was a plus side in the whole situation. The new kid at school. Archie Andrews. He moved from somewhere on the West Coast and was the hottest guy Jughead had ever seen. The boy was tall, built, and had stunning red hair that Jug wanted to run his fingers through. It was borderline creepy but it’s not like he told anyone about the crush.

He didn’t have anyone to tell.

He used to have a friend, Betty Cooper, but she stopped hanging around him when she got on the Vixens and made other friends,. Friends that didn’t ruin her social status. Jughead only made things harder for her anyway, plus he’s pretty sure that she never liked being around him anyway.

He tried to not let that one hurt, but it did.

No one ever liked him, he was the weird kid that was a good target for bullies and jocks. He was the trash from the southside that had no one to turn to. The kid that kept his head down in the hallways and let people trash talk about him and throw slurs his way. He was nothing. There had been a time when he really tried to make friends. He was nice to everyone and smiled more, but it didn’t work, so he gave up before the pain in his heart got to be too much for him to handle. Not that he was handling it now, proven by the cuts on his thighs, but at least he got out of bed in the morning.

Then there was a light that entered his life, Archie. The boy never noticed him, he never looked his way, but he had said hi to Jug once in the hallway and it made him so incredibly happy. He smiled for the first time in weeks because of that hi, and even though he knew it meant nothing to the redhead boy, he still let himself believe that it was something more than it was.  
Archie was beautiful, smart, athletic, and he had a whole entry group of friends. The only downside being that most of those friends were the same guys that slammed Juggie into lockers and called him a fag.  
The older boy was also openly Bi, and whenver one of the guys said something to Jughead about being gay or being a so called fag, the taller boy would give them a disaproving look. His friends said it was different though because at least Archie still liked to look at boobs.

Childish morons.

Archie had never noticed him before today, and Jughead was confused on why the boy came up to him and talked to him at lunch.

Jug sat alone all the time and often read a book while lunch was happening, he didn’t really have the money for food. But, today Archie came up to him and gave him half his sandwich and sat down with him. The surprise was evident on the raven haired boys face, and it made Archie smiled a little bit, but it also hurt his heart to think that the smaller boy was so shocked that someone was being nice to him. He deserved more than that. Everyone hated Jughead Jones, and when Arch came along, he really didn’t understand why. The boy stayed out of their way, he was smart, and gosh was he pretty. Archie was new, and he never really understood the whole South and North side thing, but he knew that Jug was from the southside, but that didn’t seem like a valid reason to hate someone and push them around all the time. And gosh, did it make him angry when people called the boy a faggot. It was rude and insulting, and Arche was tempted to punch Reggie in the face at least one time. But, violence isn’t the answer. At least that’s what his dad said.

Jughead was blown away with how pretty the boy was, his eyes were like pools of honey and he could stare into them all day, but he wasn’t good with confrontation, so he kept his gaze downward. Throughout the whole conversation, he tried not to geek out or say something stupid about his science project or the book he was reading. No one ever wanted to hear about that. He needed to talk when he was spoken to and that’s it.  
When Archie slid him his number and asked him to Pop’s for a date, Jughead choked on the sandwich. It was embarrassing, but he couldn’t bring himself to care cause he was so happy. No one had ever loved him enough to take him out. He had never been on a date, but he was pretty sure he knew what to do and how to act. It couldn’t be that hard. He just needed to dress nicer than usual and act like a normal person. He needed to not act like himself. Then maybe Archie would like him, really actually like him. Jug never had anyone like him.

He had nodded frantically, taking Archie’s number gratefully. The taller boy smiled and walked off to class, leaving Jughead alone for him to fangirl and freak out. Which he most definitely did, in the bathroom though.

When he got home, he didn’t pay any mind to his father’s comments and mean words. The man was sitting on the couch, cradling a bottle of whiskey to his chest. The trailer was a mess, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted Archie to come pick him up. Actually, he didn’t know if Archie was going to pick him up or not, he didn’t even know when they were going out or where. He sighed and walked to his small room, sitting down on his bed he pulled out his phone and put the boy’s number in to his contacts.

_Hey! It’s Jughead, I know this is a bit soon since it’s only 3, but what time were you thinking? Just need to make sure. Lemme know._

Oh gosh, did he sound pushy? He probably sounded so annoying, it’s no wonder no one wanted to be around him. He was annoying and he talked too much and he was worthless and he was stu-

_Hey pretty boy, I was thinking sometime around 7, maybe 7:30. If that works for you. Maybe we could go to Pop’s?_

Jughead’s thoughts were interrupted by the boys text, a smile took over his face and he typed out a quick response.

_Ya, that’s fine. I haven’t been to Pop’s in forever, can’t wait!_

Jughead really hadn’t gone to the diner in years, not since his mom left him with his dad. The money coming in wasn’t enough to be able to go out to dinner or get a burger to go. He didn’t have the money, and most of the football team was there anyway, knowing them, he would be bullied the whole time he was there. Not that he couldn’t handle it, because he could, he was enough and he could take some stupid jabs.

Sometimes it just hurt more than he’d care to admit.  
Sighing, he put his phone down and flopped back onto his bed. He closed his eyes, hoping to get a nap in before he had to get ready for tonight. He hadn’t been sleeping well, not with his dad raging every five seconds about something, and the fact that the nightmares kept coming back. Every night he was brought back to the Sisters and he couldn’t get out, the man was back and he would laugh and smile wickedly. Every night he would wake up panting and crying, he would be unable to get to sleep until it was early and he had to get up for school. Of course that’s when he would fall asleep, he would fall into a deep sleep and ignore his alarm clock. His dad would get pissed and he would shamefully cry on his way to school, the walk always wore him out and he would do anything for the tears to stop. They never did, and he would never admit how ashamed of it he was. Thinking back to his time at the Sisters made shame shoot through his body and he isn’t sure if it will ever be any different.

At some point, he drifted off into sleep and only woke up when the trailer door slammed shut, a telltale sign that his father had left for the bar. Looking at his phone, he realized that he only had about an hour to get ready and be at Pop’s.

With a huff he got into the shower, and managed to find a decent enough looking outfit to wear. He paired together a baby blue sweater that was far too baggy on him, and some black skinny jeans. He threw on black converse and ditched his beanie, leaving it on his bed for when he got back home.

He walked to Pop’s, ignoring the weird looks he got from the people at the trailer park, and the comment thrown at him about being a ‘twink’.

When he got there, it was 7:20, leaving him 10 minutes until Archie would get there. He got a booth in the back, avoiding eye contact with the other people in the diner.  
By the time 7:30 rolled around, Archie wasn’t in sight, but it was okay because not everyone could be on time all the time. Juggie waited another 10 minutes and then started worrying about it. He shot Arch a text asking him where he was, but didn’t get a reply. The boy was probably driving there and couldn’t answer the phone right this minute. Jughead was just being paranoid and he needed to calm down.

Some of the football guys at the booth a few ahead of him were laughing, looking up at him then looking away, and that’s when he really started to freak out. It was 8:15 now and there was no sign of Archie.

His heart dropped when a flash went off, blinding his eyes for a moment. He rubbed them gently and looked up to see Chuck Clayton laughing, holding his phone up and snapping another picture of the boy.

It hit him then. Jughead knew what was happening now, and he hated himself for letting it get to this point.

  
He’s been played, and he couldn’t blame anyone but himself and his stupidity. He shouldn’t have come here tonight, he shouldn't have trusted that Archie really wanted to go out with him. He was stupid and foolish, and now he was the laughing stock of the diner.

  
He bolted quicker than ever before, leaving behind a cold cup of coffee that he had ordered when he first got there. Tears formed in his eyes as he ran down the steps of the diner and ou of view from then jocks lining up at the windows. He walked away quickly, but not before hearing Chuck yelling at him.

_“You really though he was gonna go out with you, freak!? God, you really are stupid aren’t you?! Better run on home to the trailer park faggot!”_

Jughead only let the tears fall once he rounded the corner and was out of sight.

How could he be so stupid, how could he think that Archie wanted to go out with him, spend time with him. Nobody wanted him to begin with so why would they want him now? Was he really that easy to fuck with, was he really that blind to everything?

He hated himself even more than before and he can’t believe he was this stupid to begin with. He can’t believe he was so fucking stupid.

Tears fell down his cheeks as he walked home in the dark. He didn’t bother looking up, afraid that there would be more cameras waiting for him. The fact that he was hopeful enough to think that Archie wanted him to begin with made his heart hurt even more. He didn’t wanna go home, but he opened the door anyway and walked to his room carefully, his dad being passed out on the couch made it clear to him that it was a bad night for his father as well.

Ripping off his jeans and socks, he climbed into bed, pulling the blankets tightly around him and ignoring the noises of the outdoors. The rowdy people of the trailer park were having some get together that spiked no interest in Jughead.

His heart was heavy and his mind wouldn’t shut up for two seconds. He should’ve just ignored the redhead when he came up to his table today, he should’ve been more careful, he shouldn’t have trusted anyone to begin with but he did and it’s now his biggest regret. He knew that people didn’t like him, he knew that he was a fuck up and that no one would love him. Part of him didn’t even wanna date, or get close to anyone, not after the Sisters. It was the most traumatic experience of his life and he’s terrified of letting anyone touch him yet. He doesn’t know if he’ll ever be okay again, but something tells him that he won’t. He doesn’t have anyone to confide in, someone to lean on when things get tough, he doesn’t have a loving home or a loving family. He has nothing.

A razor or some pills had never seemed so appealing to him, and it was tempting to get up and grab some from the bathroom. He just wanted to end it all, it was the only way for it to stop hurting. He didn’t want it hurting anymore. Life was cruel and no one was ever going to love him.

He was nearly out of bed and on his way to the bathroom when his phone dinged. His heart dropped down to his stomach, he has a feeling he knew who it was.

Sighing, he turned back around and flopped onto his bed, bringing his phone up to his face he saw a new message for Archie Andrews.

_Jughead, I’m really sorry about all of this. I never wanted to hurt you, the boys thought that it would be funny. They said that everyone did this kinda thing and that you would just laugh it off. I shouldn’t have been so stupid to think that you would enjoy that whatsoever. I’m sorry._  
I really do like you though. I wanna get to know you better, but I understand if that’s too much to ask. Just know that I’m willing if you are. Lemme know sometime soon I guess.  
Sorry again.

He was tempted to roll his eyes. Why the fuck would he enjoy that at all? Why would Archie think that it was something that he would like? Didn’t he see how those boys treated him at school? Didn’t he see the torment that they put him through?

He sighed, and decided on answering back just to be nice. He wasn’t sure why he was being nice at all, but Arch seemed upset by the situation, so he thought that maybe a text would let him know that Jug isn’t dead or something.

_I need time._

He didn’t go into depth, but he also didn’t go into the bathroom.

With a huff, he yanked the blankets up to his shoulders and curled into himself, letting the soft sound of the floor fan lull him into a sleep that would surely be interrupted by nightmares once again.


	2. Nothing at all

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The depression drags him down. The claws of the darkness gripping him, dragging him deeper into the cold dark water of pain.   
> He can’t focus.  
> He can’t care.   
> He doesn’t know how to care anymore.   
> Not when all of this pain could just stop for once.

The next day was rough. It was hard for Jughead to get out of bed, but he had a science quiz today and he couldn’t miss it. It would be too hard to make up. 

Maybe he could just take the quiz and then leave? That was a good option. But then again, he couldn’t let all of those boys know that what they did really got to him. He shouldn’t be so weak and scared to walk into school, but he is and he can’t help but pull his beanie down extra low when he walks through the doors. 

The beanie didn’t do much, people still looked at him and laughed to their friends. But at least the ratty old thing hid his hearing aids. That was they main reason he got it anyway. His mom thought that it was a good idea when the kids at school started calling him a freak when they say the small tan nubs. 

 

He has to admit that it was a good idea at the time. But now, it really didn’t do much to help his humiliation. It seems that the whole school knew that something was up. 

Maybe Chuck sent the picture out to everyone in his contacts, explaining what had happened? That seemed reasonable, considering the boy had everyone in the damn school on his phone. It was annoying, he even had Jughead’s number for some reason. He thinks maybe Betty gave it to him when they went on that date a while back. 

Chuck was just hoping for a good time and a new way to bully Jug. It made sense. 

 

With a sigh, Jug put his head down and walked to his first period class, English. 

Lucky for him, he enjoyed the class and he didn’t know many of the people in there. It was AP Comp so he wasn’t expecting any of the boys to be in the class, not even Archie was in it and he was the smartest of them all. 

It was hard to focus throughout the class period and his eyes became droopy about half way through the lesson. He hadn’t slept well, like usual, and he couldn’t seem to get back to sleep when he woke up. It was frustrating and anyone, but trauma doesn’t just disappear sadly. He was stuck with these vivid memories and they were never going to leave his head until he healed. 

It didn’t seem like he was going to be able to heal though. That took having a support system, and he definitely didn’t have that. He needed people to lean on and confide in, but he didn’t really have that option. He had tried to talk to his dad and tell him about what happened even though he was the one that sent him to the Sisters. The man hadn’t listened, and he was drunk off his feet anyway. It’s not like he would’ve remembered. 

Jughead tried not to let the thoughts and memories come back to him often, but they always found a way to creep back into his thoughts. 

 

The teacher had dismissed the class for work time by the time Jughead snapped out of his thoughts. He rubbed his eyes and packed up his empty notes and pencil. There was no point in sticking around, not like he had anyone to work with. He wouldn’t wanna work with anyone either. Working in groups on school related things always left him as the only person working. 

Everyone else were a bunch of leeches. 

 

He walked down the empty hallway and pulled his headphones on, not liking the silence. It bugged him and made his skin crawl. He isn’t sure why, but it just let his thoughts fester when it was too quiet. That’s why he needed his floor fan on at all times, even in the winter. 

Thankfully it wasn’t winter yet, but it was getting close. Thanksgiving was coming up and everyone was getting excited about the dumb holiday. Jughead has never liked it, even before everything went to shit. He didn’t understand the purpose of it, he didn’t get what he had to be thankful for. 

He understood what he should’ve been thankful for when his mom left with his sister in the dead of night. He should’ve been more grateful for them. But he wasn’t and now they were gone. He shouldn’t have been so selfish in those months before his mom left. He was annoyed and angry throughout most of it and never bothered to spend time with his mom or sister. 

It was too late when he realized all of that. 

 

A bang echoed throughout the empty hallway, causing the small boy to snap his gaze upward and rip his headphones from his ears. 

He looked around but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. He knew that something was off though, so he kept his gaze locked on where he heard the noise come from. 

The boys bathroom. 

It only took a minute for Chuck Clayton and Reggie Mantle to come stumbling out, laughing their asses off about something that probably wasn’t even funny. The hallways filled with the smell of weed and Reggie was nearly tripping over his own feet. 

 

God, what idiots. 

 

Jughead turned around, hoping that he wouldn’t need to have an interaction with the two boys, but Chucks shout stopped him from advancing. 

 

“Hey fag! Whatcha doing here?! Thought you would’ve slit both your wrists by now. It would make everyone a lot happier ya know?!” 

 

Jughead ignored him and continued walking down the hall, quickened his pace to the front doors. He really didn’t care about the damn science quiz anymore. He wanted to go home now. 

 

“I know you can hear me slut! Isn’t that what those freaky things are for in your ears?!” 

 

Reggie snorted out a laugh as Chuck stumbled a little, yanking Jughead by his shoulder and slamming him against the locker. 

Metal dug into his shoulder blades and he whimpered softly. 

Human touch was something he hadn’t grown too fond of. Not with living with his father and his time at the Sisters. He didn’t like it at all. It made his skin crawl and he wanted to curl up in a ball until they went away. He didn’t wanna do this today. He just wanted to sleep for years and years and years. 

 

“What? Can’t handle a little beating? C’mon Jones, we both know that your old man likes to get some good hits in there. Can’t blame him though, I wouldn’t wanna faggot for a son either. You must be a real disappointment huh? That why your mommy left you behind?” 

 

The words jabbed at his already wounded heart, and he couldn’t help the tears that stung at his eyes. The lump in his throat growing with each comment from the taller boy. 

It was one of his biggest fears. Not being enough. His mother hating him, his father hating him. He hated that his mom didn’t want him, that she didn’t bring him, and Chuck knew how to use that to his advantage. 

 

“Awww, are you gonna cry bitch? C’mon, lemme see those tears that everyone loves to see. You know you wanna. You know how much of a pussy you are, can’t even hold back some tears because of a comment.” 

 

Jughead squeezed his eyes shut and counted to ten and then back down. He didn’t wanna have a panic attack right now, not here in front of these two guys. They would only use that against him more. 

He could feel one creeping up on him though, and if Chuck didn’t let go of him soon, he was going to be hyperventilating and sobbing. He would be falling back into the grasp of Scott from the Sisters. He would be feeling that pain again, feeling that burning pain and terrifying breath on his face. 

He didn’t wanna be back there, and he willed the thoughts to just leave him alone for once. To just go the fuck away. 

 

There was a huff and Chuck’s hands were off of him, leaving him trembling and falling to the floor, clutching his legs to his chest. He let the tears fall then, hiding his face in his knees and blocking out all the sounds around him. There was some mumbled words and annoyed yells. But then everything was silent. 

He was alone again. He always seemed to be alone. 

 

Hands on his shoulder shocked him and he yelped, shooting up, hand swinging. He nearly hit the person in front of him, but a hand stopped his fist and forced him to look at the person in front of him. 

Those brown eyes filled Juggie’s world once again, and that red hair blinded him for a second. 

Archie fucking Andrews. 

Of course it was him. 

 

Jughead was a mess, tears running down his pale cheeks, dark bags under his eyes. 

He looked like shit and he knew it, and of course Archie had to come around and see him like this. Like this weak, pathetic victim. 

Shame coursed through him and he pulled away from the redhead. Scrambling to grab his bag from the floor, along with his headphones. 

He was nearly about to walk away when a soft voice called after him. 

 

“Jughead? Hey, are you okay?” 

 

Does anything you just witnessed look okay? Does it Archie? 

 

Even thought he was tempted not to, he nodded and walked away from the boy, not giving him the chance to say anything else at the time. 

He wasn’t willing to hear what the taller boy had to say to him. He wasn’t ready and he still needed more time. Maybe Archie knew that and that’s why he didn’t follow Jug out of the school or run after him as the shaking boy ran for home without a second thought to his school work. 

He wasn’t worried about missing anything anymore. The words of Chuck were being thrown around in his mind and he couldn’t get his thoughts to shut up. 

He needed them to just shut up. He didn’t like listening to them and he didn’t like the way it made him feel. Jughead’s heart aches and he isn’t sure if it’ll ever stop for once. He needed it to stop. 

He was too much of a coward to end it all right now. Not when he had a chance with Archie. He knew that he wasn’t enough for the golden boy, but it was nice to think that he was enough for a little bit. It was nice to think that someone could like him and care about his thoughts and feelings. It was nice to think that he could have someone on his side, someone to go to when things got too hard with his dad. 

Archie could be that person, but at the same time, Jug has a feeling that the boy won’t stick around for more than a month. He wasn’t worth that much time. Most people can’t be around him for more than an hour. 

Why would Archie want him? He wasn’t worth it. He knew that he wasn’t worth it, and it would only be a matter of time until Archie knew it as well. 

 

By the time he walked into the trailer, he was exhausted and ready to sleep for hours. His father wasn’t home and wouldn’t be until around dinner time so that left him some time to relax and not worrying about his dad coming him and beating him senseless. 

He walked into the bathroom, washing his face of the tears that had been falling for an hour now. Looking back at himself, he barely recognized the person he saw. He wasn’t the same person that he was anymore. He changed so much, he was broken down at the Sisters, and he wasn’t going to be fixed any time soon. He was broken forever. 

Jughead choked on his tears as he grabbed a razor from the draw. He didn’t bother thinking about it before dragging it across his wrist that was already covered in scars. New and old. It gave him an outlet. He felt free and relaxed for the two minutes that the cut bled. For the two minutes that it actually hurt. 

It was nice to feel an actual physical pain rather than emotional heartache that he felt daily. 

He didn’t bother wrapping the new cuts, he just washed his wrist and pulled on a baggy sweater and some boxers. 

Climbing into bed, he didn’t bother with anything else. Not his homework. Not his phone going off. Nothing. 

He closed his eyes and let the world slip away from him for the few hours that he had to himself. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay safe loves. Hope you enjoyed. Next chapter will be up soon❤️


	3. Gone away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go from bad to really fucking bad.

He hadn’t meant to miss the first two periods of school. He hadn’t gotten up late or anything, but somehow he lost track of time in the shower and ended up sitting on the floor for over an hour. He only realized what he was doing once the water became ice cold. 

His body had jerked back to itself and Jughead realized where he was. He was quick to turn off the shower and stumble out of it. He dressed in joggers and a baggy sweater, not thinking about his appearance. He knew that he would look ugly either way. There was no point in trying with himself anymore. 

The cut on his wrist wasn’t completely healing, in fact it was still pretty raw, so he wrapped it and made sure that his sleeve covered most of the evidence of what he had done. 

FP was already gone for the day by the time Jug went into the living room. 

Thank God for small miracles. 

He thought for a moment about grabbing something to eat, but his mind wandered back to his body, the way he looked, and he couldn’t think about swallowing food. It would only make him more repulsive and unappealing. 

He didn’t need that. Not now, not ever. If not eating was the way to feel a bit better about himself, then he was willing to do so. 

 

The day went by with a blur.  Archie was nowhere to be seen, but Jug didn’t put much thought into it, not wanting to let his mind wander to the thoughts of the redhead boy. 

He wasn’t technically mad at Arch for the whole diner situation, but he didn’t help but he disappointed in the boy for thinking that it was normal to do that to someone. He knew that Riverdale was a small town, but surely Archie had to know that even their small town wouldn’t have some weird ass tradition like that. 

It was rude and heartbreaking in ways that the older boy didn’t seem to understand. Maybe it’s because the boy had every girl and guy falling for him back in his old town. Maybe he really thought that he wasn’t hurting anyone by setting up Jughead. He must’ve thought that he would be liked no matter what and that Jug would forgive him without a second thought to it. 

It wasn’t the case. And, honestly, it bugged Jughead that Archie thought he was so easy to get to. 

He thinks it might’ve been the football boys that told Archie that it was easy to get into Jughead’s pants. Which was a complete lie. And not that it’s anyone’s business, but Jug wouldn’t want anything to do with sex for awhile now. Not after this summer. 

 

By the end of the week, Archie had talked to him twice. One time asking for a pencil in the middle of Math class and the other, saying hi in the hallway while passing to another class. 

It was nothing special, but Jug appreciated it. He told the boy that he needed time and it seemed that he was respecting that. Jughead was thankful for the space and time to think about everything that has been going on. 

With everything going on, Jughead had managed to forget to eat for the past three days. 

It being Friday, he didn’t think too much into it. He’d have the weekend to eat some things and get back to his usual self before Monday. Besides. He was fine. Nothing too bad. Sure, he was a little dizzy sometimes and there were moments when he’d stand up and get lightheaded. But, that was to be expected from not eating for nearly four days now. 

It was the sixth hour when everything went downhill. 

He was in math class, focusing on his quiz sitting in front of him, when suddenly, the numbers started blurring to the point where he couldn’t read them. 

Blinking a few times, he hoped that it would go back to normal, but nothing changed. The problems stayed a jumble of letters and numbers that he could depict. 

Archie was sitting next to him, giving him odd looks when he kept rubbing at his eyes. 

It wasn’t until his stomach cramped that he whimpered softly. It was a stabbing pain that he hadn’t dealt with throughout the past three days. The world was becoming blurry and he wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or not. 

Vaguely he remembers standing up and trying to walk to the pencil sharpener, but everything started becoming darker and darker. It got to the point where he couldn’t even hear Archie calling his name softly. He heard nothing, and the world seems to spin and blur out of control. 

One moment he was reaching to sharpen, and then next his head hit the tiled floor as his world blacked out. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am very aware that this is short. But it’s late and I wanted to get something up. I will be post again sometime tomorrow(or technically today because it’s one in the morning) and I’m hoping to make that chapter longer.  
> I hope y’all understand. I’m very exhausted emotionally and physically right now. Things aren’t great at home and all of that bad stuff.  
> Please understand. I’m sorry it’s so short.


	4. The Moment his Heart dropped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Archie isn’t sure why he cares this much about the boy that he’d barely known for more than a month. It scares him in ways that are new and far too familiar.   
> Nothing scares him as much as the crack of Jughead’s skull against the floor of the classroom though.

Archie doesn’t remember caring about someone so much. It’s not that he doesn’t have a heart or anything, he’s a nice guy and he knows that. But, Jones is different on so many levels. Maybe it’s because everyone hates the guy already that makes him feel like he can’ date the boy. He isn’t sure what it is that’s stopping him from dragging the smaller boy on a date. But whatever it was is pissing him off.

  
The boy didn’t have trust for Arch anymore and he can’t really blame him. He left him alone at Pop’s and let fucking Chuck Clayton play him like some sorta game. It was a shitty move and it has to be one of his worst moments. He didn’t mean to hurt the boy’s feelings or anything, but then again he was being an idiot when he thought that what he did was normal.   
He thought that things were getting better between the two of them, but maybe not. Jug didn’t like to talk to him much anymore, not that they talked a lot to begin with, but at least they had conversations about things. At this point, he was losing hope, but he still had this small part of him that wanted to believe that the raven haired boy would be willing to give him another chance at some point.

  
He can’t lose hope yet.

  
First out is his least favorite thing in the whole world, and the same goes for all of the other classes that follow after them. He doesn’t like school and it’s not really his fault. It’s boring and the things they teach either make no sense or are too easy. But, Jughead his in his class, and when he sees the way Jughead his acting, he knows that he should say something.   
The boy looks pale and sickly, but he didn’t wanna be mean about it, so he figured waiting until the end of class couldn’t hurt, he was probably just sick. It wasn’t that big of a deal.

  
Until it was of course.

  
When the shorter boy got up and started walking over to the pencil sharpener, Archie couldn’t help but notice the way he swayed with each step and how his face seemed to be pained.

  
Now, when he heard a bang, he wasn’t expecting to turn around and see the boy on the floor, unconscious. But, then again, life always kept him guessing.

  
At first he sat there like an idiot, but he was quick to jump out of his seat and rushed over to the boy. By the time he placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder, his eyes were already opening back up.

  
“Hey, Jughead? You okay?” Probably not the best thing to ask someone that just passed out.

  
The boy looked around dazed and confused, and he seemed to freak out at all of the eyes staring back at him. Archie looked over his shoulder and glared a little at the group of people just standing there, not even the teacher was making a move.

  
“Mr. Andrews, take Jones to the nurses office and return back here as soon as possible please.”

  
Thank fuck. At least he didn’t have to sit through this class anymore, but then again, Jug had just passed out so maybe he shouldn’t be thinking about that right now.

  
He helped the boy up and on to his feet, but let him lean into him, knowing that he was probably feeling pretty lightheaded at the moment. The walk down to the office didn’t take too long considering that the school was decently smaller than most.   
At first it seemed that Jughead didn’t want to let go of him, but the nurse was persistent that the boy laid down so she could make sure that he was okay and that his head was okay. Archie agreed with her, but he still didn’t like the way Jug looked at him with big eyes, almost seeming scared to be in someone else’s hands for care.

  
That’s when Archie decided to stay by the boy’s side throughout the whole process, because fuck class and their stupid teacher that had no remorse whatsoever. He felt bad for even thinking about leaving the boy to begin with, it’s not like anyone else was gonna come and sit with him. He didn’t really have any friends that Archie had seen at least, and it kinda hurt his heart to think about the boy being alone throughout everything that the jocks put him through. Archie never wanted to be one of those guys, he wanted to be a good person that anyone could come to with anything, and the fact that he hurt Jughead hurt him more than he thought that it would. He would never do that again and now he was sure of it.

  
“Archie, you don’t have to stay here with me. Really you can go back to class it’s alright.” The redhead snapped out of his thoughts when he heard that beautiful voice speak to him. He knew that Jug wouldn’t want him to miss class for him, or make his grade fall down a letter for him. He was a selfless boy and sometimes it got him into trouble. Arch made sure to put on a witty smile when he answered the boy.

  
“Nah, it’s alright, I hate that class anyway, this is much better. Plus, I’ve been trying to spend some time with you lately. You never seem too keen on that idea though.” This caused the smaller boy to look away and blush a little.

  
“Sorry about that, I guess I’m being a little stubborn about all of this huh?” Arch shook his head though, smiling a little.

  
“No, you’re not. Don’t think that okay? I get it. I did a shitty thing and you needed some time to think about that, it’s understandable and I get that. I’m really sorry about that though, I hope you know that I never meant to hurt you, but looked back on that, it seems like that would have hurt anyone.”

  
Jughead’s lip tugged up a little into a soft smile and he nodded, wincing at the movement a moment later.

  
“Hey, so not that it’s any of my business, but what was that back there? You were alright one minute and on the floor the next. You could’ve told me if you weren’t feeling well, I would’ve brought you down here earlier nad your head wouldn’t be bashed in.”

Jughead laughed a little, barely even there, but Archie thought that it was the prettiest thing he had ever heard.   
Wow. He was so whipped already. Not that it was something he told anyone of course, especially not Juggie. That would just be embarrassing for the both of them in the end. He didn’t wanna push the boy when he wasn’t ready for that yet. So he let it be and didn’t bother the younger boy until now.

  
“I think you might be over exaggerating there Arch, I didn’t bash my head in, just hit it a little bit is all.”

  
He didn’t answer the actual question because he was a really shitty liar and he knew that he wouldn’t come up with something believable for Archie in time. The boy seemed persistent on getting an answer though because he gave Jug a pointed look and smiled a little. It was reassuring but it didn’t make him want to spill about not eating for three whole days because it gave him a sense of control in life. He would sound crazy and Archie would never talk to him again. He couldn’t risk that, not when the taller boy was the only thing that he was holding on to right now. He couldn’t run the boy away and never see him again because then there would be no real reason to be alive anymore. Maybe it wasn’t healthy but Archie was the only good reason to stick around for a little while longer.

  
Archie sat there though, awaiting an answer that Jughead didn’t know if he could give. Arch must’ve saw him panicking because he backed off a little and let Juggie take a second to breathe and calm the fuck down. He needed to calm down before he went into full blown panic mode. Archie didn’t need to see that, for sure that would make him book it as far away as possible.

  
“Hey, sorry. I didn’t mean to push you there, you don’t owe me an explanation, I don’t deserve that, I was an ass and I get it if you don’t wanna talk to me about things anymore.”

  
Fuck. Oh God, no Archie. That’s not why he doesn’t wanna speak up about things, but now here he was and Arch looked so beat down and hopeless all because he thinks that the school weirdo doesn’t wanna talk to him about all of his issues. There were so many of them and Archie would run away the minute he spilled about them. He needed to hold onto this little piece of hope for as long as possible, but it seemed that either way, Archie was going to leave him here alone and not bother talking to him again. He couldn’t risk that, but he also couldn’t tell him about the eating problem, or the cuts, because then he would leave for sure.

  
There was no way out of this without one of them getting hurt, and honestly, Jughead would rather it be him that Arch. Because Archie was a fucking ray of sunshine on most days and Jug didn’t wanna be the reason that the sun stopped shining, it hurt too much to see Archie sad about something.

  
With a deep breath and his heart plummeting to his stomach, Jughead opened his mouth and spilled the truth about what he thinks happened.

  
“So, I haven’t eaten in like three days and I know that’s pretty bad so maybe that’s it ya know?”

  
Archie looked like he just shit his pants. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UGH. I’m sorry that I didn’t get this up sooner. Things are really getting bad here at home and I’m not sure what’s happening anymore. My mom might be sending me away or something, so if I disappear for a month and I don’t post anything, that’s what’s happening. I am so sorry if it comes to that, but hopefully I can do an out treatment thingy and see a therapist three times a week. Not really sure what’s happening anymore TBH so ya.   
> Anyway, I hope y’all enjoy this little chapter, I know that it’s short and I’m sorry, I’ve spent most of the past two days crying and ripping my mind in half. Please go easy on me, my mental state is shit and I feel like I might fall apart any minute now YAY.


	5. The world and me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Archie is a worrie boy(friend) and Jughead is convinced that he will never be loved, that he doesn’t deserve that love.   
> No one wants him, why would Archie?

Jughead has been through a lot of things in his short life. Things that maybe no kid should have to go through, but he’s also been told that he deserved it, that he wasn’t worth anything more than his body. Telling people that he was gay was the first freeing moment of his life, it felt like he had gained power, like he was taller than everyone else in the room.

  
He felt so free in that moment.

But then things came crashing down as they usually do for Jughead Jones. His father became angry, he yelled, he hit, he threw slurs into this small boys face and said that he was sick, twisted, freak.

  
His own father said that he would be going to hell when he died. The man that was supposed to love him no matter what told him to go kill himself.

  
Jughead had lost hope that day that anyone would ever love him again. His own father couldn’t, and it just didn’t make sense for anyone else to.

  
Things moved forward and he healed his broken heart the best that he could by himself. It was hard and he felt like his life was tearing into pieces.

  
The summer rolled around, his mom and sister left, and he felt his heart follow them all the way to Toledo. Nothing seemed possible then, and he was seriously thinking about his father’s words. He thought of many ways to end his life, he thought about how happy people would be if he was just gone for good. His dad wouldn’t have a disgrace for a son, a faggot, and then maybe his mom would come back home. Give his sister her father back and they could all be one happy family.

  
Jughead didn’t need to be apart of the equation, he didn’t make anyone happy, he made people angry and disappointed. He was a burden and something to deal with.   
And so, he bought a razor from the drug store and planned out the perfect timing for his great escape from the pain.

  
The only problem that came along was the fact that the morning before he was going to end his life, his father dragged him to the Sisters. He screamed and thrashed when two large men pulled him inside of the group home and down into the basement.

  
He screamed a lot those two months.

  
He cried, he bled, he screamed, he wished to whoever was up there to make the pain stop.

  
It never did.

  
It only stopped when his father showed up again, looking more put together than before, and looking far more hopeful as well.

  
He must’ve thought that Jughead was going to be straight and in love with some pretty girl now.

  
He was so very wrong though.

  
Jughead couldn’t sleep now, the nights were filled with faces, men, they were filled with pain and memories of how men used his body in ways that were meant for someone that loved him. That was meant for when he was ready.

  
Nights and days bled together as one, he couldn’t get out of bed for weeks, he could barely look at himself in the mirror anymore.

  
He was disgusting and broken beyond repair.

  
He was loveless and alone.

  
School started, cuts appeared on his wrist, thighs, and ribs. He started losing weight, but never enough of it. He didn’t know who he was looking at in the mirror anymore, and he was sure that he had lost the old Jughead Jones back at the Sisters.

  
So ya, things have been shitty for a long time, he has been scared and alone and so sad.   
He has fallen apart and screamed and cried for days on end.

  
But never in his life has he felt so vulnerable than he did the moment he told Archie that he hadn’t been eating.

  
The expression that appeared on the older boys face made Jug wanted to disappear and cry at the same time. He was so sure that Arch would get up and leave him without a second glance at him, but he didn’t and that was more shocking than anything else.   
Arch looked at him like he might’ve been made of glass, and he took his hand gently. Nothing really happened, but he gave a reassuring squeeze to the boys things hand and asked the simple question of why.

  
It was such an easy question, but Jughead could open his mouth, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t talk. He was frozen and he hadn’t really planned this far because Archie was never supposed to actually stay by his side after he told him. He was supposed to be running away from the mess that his Jughead Jones right this minute. But, he wasn’t, he was here and he wasn’t going anywhere.

  
Juggie didn’t know what to do or say, so he sat up quickly and gathered his things, he ignored all calls after him and pushed open the front door of the school. Everything was still a little blurry and the world was spinning faster than usual, but it was fine.

  
He was fine.

  
He only realized how slow he was walking when Archie wrapped an arm around him. He must’ve been walking slow enough for the boy to reach him in time.

  
“Please don’t do this. Don’t run away and make me worry even more about you. Please Juggie. Come on, talk to me. If not here, than somewhere, anywhere. I care about you and I know that I barely know you, but, fuck, that doesn’t matter because I want to know you Jughead Jones. I want to know who you are and what you like. I do, so please just let me help you. That’s all I want to do, I know you might not trust me, or anyone really, but please, let me help you Jugs.”

  
He couldn’t pick up his feet and before he knew it he was turned around and in Archie’s arms. The tears kinda came from nowhere and he wasn’t sure why he was crying or what he was upset about. But there were a lot of things in his life to be upset and sad about. He was scared and alone.

  
God, how he missed loving hugs.

  
He missed how warm it made him feel, he hadn’t felt this safe in what felt like forever.   
So he let it continue, he let Archie hold him for a little while. He let everything else just go away and he let himself be grounded by the boy holding him tightly in his arms.

He never ended up going home after that, not like he had originally planned. Archie and him stayed within each other’s arms for what seems like hours but was only minutes.

  
Jughead was still shaky by the time Arch pulled away and kissed his forehead. After what seemed like ages, Jug felt like he could breathe again.

  
“You wanna come to my place? We could watch some movies and eat some junk food.”

  
Jughead couldn’t help the small smile that graced his face at the idea of spending time with Archie, but his dad would surely ask where he’s at. His dad may not be the most observant, but he knows that Jug doesn’t have any friends to spend time with. He would have a ball with Jughead if he knew that he was spending time with a new boy.

  
He could never do anything with anyone, not without his dad calling him a fag or asking why he bothered hanging out with girls. He never really knew what to do after his dad went on about that. He usually ducked his head and headed off to his cramped room for some space. He always needed space from his father.

  
After thinking about it though, his dad wouldn’t really know he was gone if he made it back before school started. His dad was always there, checking to make sure he was in his room when he came home from the bar.

  
It’s not that he cared, but he needed his punching bag to stay put and not run off somewhere or go looking for his mom.

  
Archie was looking at him expectantly and Jughead didn’t have it in him to say no to the redhead. He figured that it would be okay to spend some time with Arch and then go home to his dad.

  
“Ya...ya that sounds like a good idea.”

  
The taller boy beamed at him.

Walking to Archie’s took little to no time. Neither of them seemed to be worried about missing school or any of their classes, and Juggie was honestly just happy that he was spending time with someone, especially Archie. Holding a grudge had never been Jughead’s thing, and he really couldn’t find it in him to stay mad at Arch. The boy was doing everything that he could to make sure that Jug knew how sorry he was. He knew now though, and maybe it’s stupid and he’s being blind, but someone likes him. Someone likes him and wants to spend time with him, even for a few hours. It meant a lot to him, he hasn’t had a friend since Betty and she was never really his friend if he really thought about it.

  
All she did was talk about Veronica Lodge every minute that they were together. She never asked how Jughead was doing or how things were at home. She didn’t care about him, but he cared about her.

  
Although she didn’t deal with too much, the girl always complained about her overbearing mother, and during those times Jughead couldn’t help but feel a pant of resentment and sadness.

  
At least she has her mom with her. At least she cares enough to make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid.

  
He never voiced his thoughts, because he thought that it was rude and unnecessary.   
So when Betty stopped talking to him, it wasn’t a shock, and soon she was lip locking with Veronica. It was like everything worked out for the blonde, but everything blew up for him. He didn’t bother mentioning it to her, she didn’t need that burden and that the weight of his issues on her shoulders.

  
He needed to stop being a burden, so he stopped. He shut up and was sent away and ruined.

He followed blindly behind Archie and walked through his front door. A dog came barreling toward them, waging his fluffy tail and licking at Archie’s feet. The redhead laughed out at the dogs actions and bent over to pet the fluffy thing.

  
Jughead stood back smiling a little. The dog, Vegas as said on the collar, reminded him greatly of his own dog Hotdog from when he was little. He loved that dog more than anything and often confided in him to keep him company. He knew that the dog couldn’t understand him and that it just liked being pet, but it still felt nice to have something warm and living around him.

  
“Vegas, this is Jughead, no barking, he’s good.”

Jug laughed a little and Archie’s childish actions of introducing him to his dog, but he thought it was adorable all the same, so he bent down as well and pet the dog. Soft and warm, just like Hotdog.

  
“Alright. My dad won’t be home till later so I can’t really introduce you just yet, but we can head upstairs until he gets home.”

  
Jughead stopped and looked at him, confused.

  
“You wanna introduce me to your dad? Why on earth would you want to do that?”

  
Archie laughed and squeezed his shoulder.

  
“You’re funny ya know? Why wouldn’t I? He’s already heard about you Jug. I kinda like you if you have noticed yet, he hears about anyone that I like.”

  
A blush spread from Jughead’s face down to his chest. Archie hadn’t said that he actually liked him, but it felt nice, it felt a little freeing. It reminded him that maybe he wasn’t alone in what he was feeling. It was nice and God did it make him happier than anything had in so long.

  
“Well okay then.”

  
Why would Archie like him of all people? He’s nothing. Trailer trash and everyone knew it. Didn’t Archie care about his appearance like everyone else?

  
Archie smiled though and took his hand, leading him up the stairs and to the left.   
Archie’s room was just like him. Put together, but still young.

  
Posters and pictures were plastered on the wall, trophies and medals sitting on shelves and dressers. His letterman jacket was hanging on his desk chair, the desk occupied by a laptop, notebook and some headphones.

  
It was so...normal. It was a teen boys room, maybe a little cleaner than most, but it was just so natural and normal. It hurt his heart a little.

  
Everything that he owned could fit into a camping backpack that sits in his hall closest.   
He shook it off and smiled at Archie’s awaiting expression.

  
“It’s...nice. Very you.”

  
The redhead sent him a goofy smile.

  
“What’s that mean?”

  
Jug sighed and slipped his shitty shoes off his feet.

  
“I just mean, it’s basically everything that I thought it would be. It’s a teen boys room but a little more...put together I guess. It’s got everything that you put off.”

  
The taller smiled a little and laughed, slipping his shoes off as well.

  
“You wanna watch The Office?”

  
A sense of warmth filled Jughead’s mind and body and he sighed.

  
“Read my mind Andrews.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to get up. I’m trying and I’ve been feeling a bit better lately, but things are still hard right now. I know it’s not the best, I’m sorry.


	6. The truth, well, mostly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jughead can’t hold it in any longer, not when Archie thinks that he’s the one that did something wrong. God, he just wishes it would stop and he could be with the redhead boy for a little while longer without spilling the beans.

The night moved along slowly.

  
They listened to Dwight go on about safety shit and watched him start a fire on purpose.

  
It was one of Jughead’s favorite episodes. Although, Stanley having a heart attack wasn’t the best aspect of it.

  
At some point the boys moved closer to one another on Archie’s bed, neither of them really noticing that it was happening until Jug’s head leaned onto Arch’s shoulder.

  
He froze in panic, thinking that this would be the time for Archie to throw him out and yell at him for getting to close.   
Yell and hit him for being who he was.

  
But, instead, the boy sighed and sank into his pillows even more, wrapping a strong arm around Jughead's thin shoulders. He continued watching the show without a second thought, while Juggie had an internal freak out about the fact that Archie Andrews had his arm wrapped around his shoulder.

  
He really had it bad this time. He needed to calm down before the boy thought he was a freak or something. He couldn’t have that. He just couldn’t.

  
Neither of them brought up what happened at school, neither of them brought up what Jughead had said at school about not eating. But, after nearly an hour, Archie did go and grab some food for them to snack on until dinner.

  
It was just a bag of chips and yet it caused Jug to freak out a little.

  
He couldn’t eat, God, he would look disgusting and his body would be winning against his mind and he just couldn’t let that happen. It couldn’t happen. He didn’t get to win. His mind was stronger than this. His head needed to get the fuck together and focus on he show and Archie’s warmth, not the chips sitting in front of him.

  
He was so hungry though. So beyond hungry and he saw the older boys conceded glances. He saw the way that he was holding off on the chips and saving them for Jughead to eat. He saw all of it and it made him itch all over. It made him feel sick and gross and like a pig.

  
He felt like he was a burden by just being there.

  
It took everything in him not to yell, not to rip his hair out or go into the bathroom and find a razor to use on his wrist.   
It took everything to just sit there and not act on the actions his mind was coming up with.

  
Archie must’ve noticed something, because he muted the TV and gave his full attention to Jughead.

  
“Hey? What’s wrong? You okay?”

  
Jug nodded and swallowed the bile in his throat. Archie just couldn’t know about everything. He couldn’t know about everything that was wrong with Jug.

  
There was so much messed up about him, and Arch wouldn’t want all of those broken pieces.

  
He wouldn’t want those pieces, the don’t fit together anymore.

  
He lost some of those pieces back at the Sisters, he lost some on the floor of his shower, his bathroom, every time his dad put his fist into his face. He lost so many pieces of himself throughout his life, and he just wasn’t so sure if he was actually a whole person anymore, but how do you tell someone that without sounding insane??

  
You don’t. That’s how.

  
“I’m sorry. Nothing. Sorry. I’m just...nothing. I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

  
Archie wasn’t convinced to say the least.

  
“You don’t have to hide things from me Jug. I know that I did something shitty and that maybe you don’t trust me as much anymore, and I know that a lot of people have treated you like utter shit, but I’m not trying to do that. You can talk to me. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.”

  
The raven haired boy just shook his head and bowed it.

  
“I can’t risk telling you Archie. It’s not because I don’t trust you. I just can’t. Everyone leaves okay? And, I really don’t want you to leave me. I don’t have anything else going for me, without you I have no reason to be here and I should just k-“

  
He cut himself off abruptly and scooted closer to the wall. Avoiding Archie’s gaze. Arch isn’t supposed to know anything. Nothing. Not about the thoughts. Or the time at the Sisters. Nothing. He cannot know and he has to make sure just to shut the fuck up.

  
Once he gets talking, sometimes everything spills out and he can’t stop himself.

  
Then they run away.

  
“I’m not going anywhere Juggie. I don’t wanna go anywhere. I like you. I wanna know you, but you have to let me get to know you or this just isn’t going to work. I’m not going to leave you, but you might do a really good job at running me away, and that’ll be your doing.”

  
It stung to hear that because maybe Archie was right, maybe he ran everyone away with his awfulness and his problems. Maybe he was too much for everyone and he couldn’t be handled by anyone at any time.

  
“I’m sorry.”

  
His voice was small and sheltered, and he hated how weak and pathetic he sounded. God, it’s no wonder his mom and dad hates him.

  
Archie sighed, running a hand through his hair and shaking his head.

  
“I’m not mad, you don’t need to apologize for anything okay? I just don’t get you. You seem like you want me to be around you and be your friend, maybe more, and then you just keep pushing me away. I don’t know what to do about it. I’m trying here, but it’s starting to seem like you don’t really want me.”

  
Jughead’s gaze snapped upward and he shook his head, mouth gaping like a fish for air.

  
“I-no it’s not that Archie. I do. I want...more and all that shit. But that’s not...it’s not about you or who you are. What you do. Nothing about you. It’s literally all me and I know people say that and it’s unbelievable and shit, but I’m serious. I’m really...I'm really messed up Archie. I’m not someone that...that anyone should like, or wanna be around. I’m not...that’s not me.”

  
Arch looked like a kicked puppy. His eyes sad and hurt.

  
“Why do you think so poorly of yourself? I think you’re great Jughead. Really really great. And you’re cute, like really cute. You’re funny and smart. I think you’re great, but you talk about yourself like you’ve done something bad and horrible.”

  
Jughead didn’t want to mention that he was horrible. He didn’t want to tell Archie that he was raped and that he was abused and that he was a mess of emotions.

  
Nothing was going to make sense to Archie. The boy was going to leave. Even if he said that he wouldn’t leave and that he wouldn’t be going anywhere, Jug knew that he was going to leave at some point.

  
“I don’t think poorly of myself Archie. Why do you assume that I do.”

  
Archie barked out a laugh and shook his head.

  
“Because Jughead, you don’t give yourself any credit for the things that you do, you don’t seem to see that you’re amazing.”

  
“I am not amazing Archie!!”

  
The room went silent, everything stopped and Archie moved back a little bit, not noticing the tears threatening to fall from the smaller boy’s eyes. The redhead got up from the bed and paced around the room. He didn’t understand what Jug’s issue was, he didn’t know if he did something wrong or if he did something that upset the boy. He knows that the whole Pop’s thing was shitty, and he knows that Jughead was very upset about it and all of that, but he never meant to hurt him this much.

  
Arch never meant to hurt the boy, he just wanted Juggy to forgive him, but it didn’t seem like that would happen any time soon.

  
“Maybe this isn’t going to work okay? Maybe you should just go and we should just stop talking and stuff. You obviously are upset with me because of everything and I’m so sorry about all of that, but you don’t have to sit here and be angry at me. Just leave okay, this isn’t going to work. I wanted it to but it’s not going to be okay.”

  
Jughead flinched at the harsh words and looked down to his lap. He didn’t want Archie to think that he was still upset. He didn’t want the boy to leave, oh God the boy was going to leave him, he was going to forget about him and Archie was going to leave him all alone again. Everything was going to be dark, empty and alone again. He was going to be nothing again. He was nothing. He was always going to be nothing.

  
“My mom left me behind with me dad, and he hits me a lot, I tried to come out to him and he sent me away to conversion camp over the summer. Bad shit happened, okay? He thinks I like girls now, he thinks I’m so called normal now, but nothing has changed. You aren’t supposed to be in the picture. God he would kill me.”

  
It wasn’t everything, but maybe it was enough to make Archie stay just a little while longer. Maybe he could be enough for just a little bit.

  
Archie didn’t move, he stared at the wall, he looked at the small crack there. He didn’t think that the phrase seeing red ever made sense, not until now. Not until he knew that someone was hurting this wonderful boy that he had just gotten to know. He shouldn’t care as much as he does, but there was something that angered him so much at the thought of Jughead being hit by someone that is supposed to love and care for him.

  
It was wrong and twisted and Archie can’t imagine what that would be like. His dad is his everything and he can’t imagine having him hit him and hurt him in ways that no parent should. It was shocking and heartbreaking and Archie really wanted to whole Juggy until he stopped shaking and crying.

  
He wanted to make the boy play again but that was starting to seem so impossible by now.   
Arch understands why Jug didn’t want him knowing about anything. He gets it now. And although he hates that Jughead didn’t want to say anything, he understood why the boy was hesitant.

  
“You should’ve told me sooner...I could’ve helped. I wanna help you. I really wanna help you, I want you to be okay. I want you to be safe Juggy…”

  
The boy looked up at the redhead and let out a strangled sob. Archie was quick to reach for the boy and pull him into his arms.

  
He could feel the wet tears on his neck and he couldn’t help but run his fingers through his thick black hair.

  
“I am so sorry Juggy. I’m so sorry this is happening to you. I am so sorry. How about you stay the night okay?”

  
Jughead nodded, snuggling his head into Archie’s chest. It sounded nice, being able to stay with Archie for the night, even if it was only for a few hours.

  
Arch didn’t seem to mind Jughead laying halfway on top of him. In fact he kinda liked it, it was a sense of warmth and it made him happy to know that Jughead felt safe with him. He now knew that Jug never felt safe, and he was so glad he could give him something to hold onto for a little while. Archie hadn’t really been able to be something important to anyone for awhile, not since he moved, leaving his girlfriend behind. It sucked, but in a moment like this, he couldn’t really find it in himself to care anymore, not when he had Jughead Jones in his arms for a whole night.

  
All he could think about was the beautiful boy that he held so closely to his chest, and he can’t help but realize that he can’t really think about ever letting go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that I didn’t get this up sooner, and this isn’t even good omg. Ugh I am literally falling apart OH NO


	7. Maybe. Maybe not.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jughead feels like things might be getting better, but things might end up getting worse.

The night faded into morning and it only then occurred to Jughead that they both had to go to school. He hadn’t meant to stay the night, and he didn’t even think about the fact that he wouldn’t have any clothes to wear to school the next day. It’s not that he ever had many clothes to wear, but he never wore the same thing two days in a row, because then he really did just look broke. He didn’t need people looking at him like a piece of trash, not more than they already do.

  
A panic struck him at this thought and he bolted upward from the bed that he and Archie were laying in. He nearly forgot how to breathe, that was until he saw Archie’s face came into view. Clam flooded through his body and he took a deep breath.

  
“Um, I kinda need some clothes to wear for the day. I can get them back to you and stuff, but I can’t go to school like this, I look ratchet.”

  
Arch barked out a laugh and shook his head, running a hand through Jug’s hair. He sighed and got up, grabbing a sweatshirt that would surely reach down to Jughead’s thighs, and tossed it over to the boy still buried under the covers.

  
“I don’t have any pants that would fit you, hope you don’t mind going with the same pair of jeans, I don’t think anyone would notice if that’s what you’re worried about. And for the record, you look beautiful in the morning. Bed head suits you nicely if I do say so myself.”

  
Juggy rolled his eyes and pulled the shirt that he slept in over his head, ignoring that way Archie stared at his bare chest, and he slipped on the sweatshirt. He let the smell of Archie fill his senses and he knew immediately that the taller boy wasn’t going to be getting the thing back. It was warm and perfectly oversized, it was everything that he needed to feel safe when Archie couldn’t be there to make sure that he was.

  
“You aren’t getting this back, and that isn’t up for negotiation.”

  
Arch smiled widely, sighing a little at the small smile on Jug’s face. He was glad that the boy wasn’t crying anymore, because if he was honest, that broke his heart a lot more than he expected it to. He didn’t want Jughead to cry more than he had to. The only time he wanted to see those tears were if they were of joy, or if they were because of a movie or book. Juggy loves books and Arch can actually see the boy crying over one of them, but at least he wouldn’t be crying because he was personally in pain.

  
The redhead knew that the conversation from last night wasn’t over and he really hopes that Jughead knows that as well. He didn’t want to bring it up to him right now, into before school and the test that Jughead had today. The boy needed to not be stressed and anxiety ridden for just a few hours. In that time, he would be talking with his dad about letting the younger boy stay with them for a little bit, just until things cooled down or they could figure something else out.

  
Archie wouldn’t care if Jughead had to stay until graduation, but he knew that the boy and his stubbornness wouldn’t allow that, he wouldn’t allow himself that sense of safety and security. It’s just not how Jughead worked, and it was understandable, he hadn’t had a stable thing in his life for God knows how long, and Archie wasn’t going to push him into something that he wasn’t ready for.

  
It seemed that the boy was already pushed into too many things that he didn’t want, and Archie wasn’t about to add onto that list of things.

The two made their way down stairs and into the kitchen, the sweatshirt Jughead was wearing slipping down lower as they walked down the stairs. Archie thought he looked adorable, and he couldn’t help but want to kiss the boys plump lips.

  
With a huff, he smiled at his dad, and pulled Juggy along with him.

  
“Dad, this is Jughead… I was going to introduce you last night, but we both fell asleep pretty quickly there, sorry.”

  
Fred Andrews smiled at his son, and moved his gaze over to the shorter boy by his side. Fred wasn’t one to judge, but it was clear the kid was in some trouble with something. He looked far too tired and worn out for his age, and his frail and thin body seemed like it could collapse at any second.

  
“It’s nice to meet you Jughead. It’s fine Archie, I don’t mind your friends staying over, you know that.”

  
Both boys smiled a little and the mention of them bring friends, and Fred knew that he and Archie would be talking later about that.

  
“Alright, well I’m off to work, don’t be late and have a good day. Get some breakfast you two. It was lovely to meet you Jughead,”

  
“Um, ya, you too Mr. Andrews.”

  
Jughead wasn’t the best with new people, or any people. He was scared and jumpy around most people and he knew that it made him look a little strange, but Mr. Andrews was nice and he didn’t seem to care all that much.

  
Archie smiled at him and grabbed them both a PopTart for breakfast, claiming that they didn’t have time to sit down and eat something, and honestly, Jughead didn’t care all that much.

  
He hadn’t had a PopTart in ages.

 

  
School was absolute shit, but he hadn’t expected anything more or less. Reggie was on his case about every little thing, and Jughead was starting to think that maybe the boy didn’t have anything more interesting to do than bug him. Either way, it was annoying and most of the things he did were textbook bullying ways. It wasn’t even impressive, but sometimes, the things he said still hurt.

  
Being called a freaky faggot wasn never fun, especially when you’re insecure about your sexuality. Jug had never been happy with himself and being called a fag everyday and being pushed around wasn’t helping.

  
One thing that made him feel a bit better though was seeing Archie get up in Reggie’s face about everything that he was doing and telling him to stop being an insecure little girl and fuck off. Seeing Reggie Mantle turn bright red in the middle of the hallway was something that Jug wouldn’t mind seeing more of.

  
The day moved slow at times, but overall it was over faster than most, and he was beyond thrilled to go back with Archie to his house. Not having to go home to his father and sit alone in his room for hours was nice, it was comforting and he felt like he was wanted when he was with Archie.

  
He hadn’t felt that way in a long, long time.

 

  
Looking back on it now, it was a bad idea not letting his father know that he was going to be gone. Yes, sure, it’s not that FP cared, or even wanted Jughead around, but he got pissed when the boy didn’t show up at home.

  
That much was proved when Jughead’s phone starting going off during the last period. Thankfully, it was on silent, because he isn’t that dumb, but he knew there had to be at least ten missed calls by the time class got out for the day.

  
Archie said to meet outside by the bench out front, so he took a second to walk into the bathroom, and look at his beat up phone, sure enough his father had called him eleven times within the past hour.

  
With a deep breath, he pressed the call button and brought the phone up to his ear, waiting for his doom.

  
It didn’t take long for his father’s screeching voice to fill his ears, and it was clear that the man was wasted.

  
“Where the fuck are you!?”

  
He couldn’t suppress the flinch that went through his body at the sound of the older man's voice.

  
“I’m…it’s a school day dad, what are you talking about?”

  
He heard a cruel laugh.

  
“Don’t play dumb with me you faggot, you haven’t been home since yesterday morning. You think you can go around disobeying my rules and getting away with it?!”

  
Jughead tried everything in his power to keep the tears at bay until the end of the phone call.

  
“No, of course not dad...I, I was just at a friends...working on a project for science, and we were tired so I just stayed the night...I’m really sorry that I didn’t call, I didn’t...I wasn’t trying to worry you dad.”

  
The man scoffed and Jughead heard a cap pop off a bottle on the other end of the phone.

  
“I wasn’t worried, I don’t give two shits about you bitch, I wanted my fucking beer and you didn’t go get a new pack. You should’ve listened to me for fucks sake. Who the hell do you think you are?!”

  
Jug let a single tear slip down his cheek as he heard his father's cruel words. He knew that man wouldn’t be worried, but he could always hope that maybe he would’ve just wanted to make sure Jughead was okay and not dead somewhere.

  
“I’m so-“

  
“No! Shut the fuck up! Don’t bother coming home for a few days, I don’t wanna see your worthless face around here, understand me?!”

  
Jughead sniffled quietly and sighed a little, trying to keep his composure together just a little while longer.

  
“Yes sir.”

  
With that the phone went silent and he brought it away from his ear, not bothering to check if the call was over, he knew his dad had hung up on him. He loved doing that.

  
Jughead shouldn’t have been so foolish to think that the day should go by without something like his father happening, maybe he really was just a worthless idiot after all.   
His phone dinged again and he looked to see a text from Archie. He was asking where he was and if he was okay. Jughead didn’t move and he wondered if maybe he should just stop talking with Archie. The boy didn’t deserve to deal with all of Jug’s issues. He didn’t deserve to deal with everything going on in the boys life, Jughead couldn’t do that to him. Guilt plagued him and he wasn’t sure what to do about it, he liked Archie and he knew that Archie was pretty fond of him as well. He knew that maybe he needed to calm down and take a breath. He needed to think about everything that was going on and he needed to go talk with Archie because the boy helped him clear his head and that was something that no one managed to do very well.

  
He walked outside on unsteady legs and he was met with a worried Archie Andrews.

  
“Gosh where the hell have you been? You scared the crap out of me, I thought that something had happened to you. You can’t do that Juggy.”

  
The smaller boy sniffled and shook his head, he hadn’t meant to make the boy worried about him, but he wasn’t use to anyone worrying so it was hard to get use to.

  
“I’m sorry Arch, I didn’t mean to, I really didn’t, but my dad called and he was just getting pretty riled up. I didn’t mean to make you upset, I’m sorry.”

  
Archie’s face softened and he took the boys hand into his own.

  
“Is everything okay? He isn’t too upset right?”

  
Jughead shook his head, he smiled up at the boy and brought him in for a hug, just because he missed the boy throughout the day. He could do that now, he could hug someone without having to ask, he could have Archie hold him when he was hurting.

  
“It’s okay, it’s fine. He was just angry, and he always seems to be angry anyway. Could we go back to yours? Or are you busy?”

  
Archie smiled and laughed a little.

  
“I am never busy when he comes to you hun.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS BAD AND SHORT AND OMG IM SO SORRY


	8. Smile through it all

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night takes a turn and Jughead has to convince everyone his fine.

They spent the night laying around lazily, Jughead only getting up for homework and food, and Archie completely ignoring getting up at all. They were both exhausted, Jug mentally and Arch physically, so it was easy for them to sit around all night. Fred was at work until 7, and then he walked in with a pizza.

  
Jughead thought that he was the father of the year honestly. The man practically read their minds, as they were just about to order something to eat.

  
Fred Andrews really was a God send, and Jughead was beyond thankful for him. For him letting the boy stay at his house and welcome him with open arms.

  
Archie knew that Juggy staying wasn’t going to be an issue, but he couldn’t convince Jughead otherwise. It was only after the boy meant Fred that he finally realized that he was okay to be there and that he was going to be safe there.

  
The night went smoothly, the boys and Fred talked about school and he and Archie talked about football while Jughead read his book. Sports weren’t his thing, but he was openly supportive of Archie’s choices and how well he was playing that season.

  
Everything was fine until 2:46 in the morning.

  
Jughead has been out like a light since 11 and Archie soon after him, the night was silent and nothing was out of place, the only disturbance was Jughead’s dreams.

  
He wishes that his dreams weren’t so vivid, he wishes that they weren’t all of his worst memories bleeding into one.

  
He really wishes he didn’t dream about the Sisters anymore, but he does and when it happens, it’s bad.

  
Screaming, crying and a cold sweat. All of it was haunting, he couldn’t seem to wake himself up no matter how hard he tried, so when he started screaming ‘no' and ‘stops’, there was no stopping him.

  
Arch was jerked awake by the heart breaking sound and his father’s steps in the hallway, the banging on the door not letting up.

  
The older man gave up on the whole privacy thing and slammed the door open, he saw his son rubbing his eyes and tripping over his blankets trying to get out of his bed.

  
The raven haired boy that he had just meant was on the floor, screaming and flashing. Tears were streaming down his face and Fred felt that parental instinct that he always felt with Archie surge through him.

  
He was quick to move over to the boy on the floor, kneeling and telling Archie not to touch him yet. Scaring the boy was the last thing that either of them wanted to do. Fred hadn’t had to deal with nightmares in so long, not since Archie was little, and they were never has bad as this.

  
The boy was thrashing on the floor, obviously trying to push something off of him that wasn’t there. The boy didn’t know that nothing was there though and he was terrified.

  
“Archie, kid can you go get some water? He’s going to need some.”

  
His son nodded, a fearful look in his eyes, and he scurried off downstairs.

  
Fred turned his attention to Jughead, and he carefully placed his hands on the boy’s shoulders. He didn’t bother shaking him awake, the kid was on the verge of consciousness but he needed a little help getting there.

  
“Hey, Jug, I need you to wake up okay, come on. Wake up bud, it’s just a dream, that’s all.”

  
The boy continued to thrash and whine, tears streaming down his pale face and Fred was worried that maybe the boy wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon.

  
When he was about to lose hope, the kids eyes snapped open, and he let out a terrified cry and scrambled away from the hands on him.

  
Mumbled words escaped his mouth and he brought his knees up to his chest. Fred could barely make out any of the boys words, but he heard a faint ‘please no, please stop’ and a ‘let me go please, I’ll be good, I’m sorry’.

  
He didn’t know what those meant, he didn’t understand why the boy was so scared, but he just decided to let it go until the kid calmed down a little.

  
Arch appeared at the door, holding the glass with shaky hands, and he waved him over, taking the glass from him.

  
“Arch, why don’t you head downstairs for a little bit, we’ll come down soon okay?”

  
Archie was about to protest, but he saw the demanding glint in his eyes. He nodded instead, and turned back around, leaving the two.

  
“Jug? Hey kiddo...can you look at me, it’s okay. I’m going to help you breathe through this bud, come on, just look at me.”

  
The boy shook his head and curled in on himself.

  
“P-p-please don't-don’t hurt-hurt me….”

  
Fred shook his head and placed a gentle hand on the boy’s shin, rubbing his thumb up and down.

  
“No ones going to hurt you here, no one alright. You’re safe here, you’re safe here alright.”

  
He saw blue eyes peak up at him, and a wet sniffle filled the room. The boy loosened his grip on himself a little and he stretched his legs out in front of him, rubbing his eyes.

  
“M’Sorry Mr. Andrews. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to…to burden you.”

  
Fred shushed him, running a careful hand down his back, he needed to reassure the boy that it was okay, that it’s nothing to be worried about.

  
“Hey it’s okay, it’s not your fault that you had a nightmare. It’s okay.”

  
The boy shook his head.

  
“I try not to stay over at people's houses because of this. I’m so sorry.”

  
Fred sighed, sitting next to the kid. He had a feeling from when he meant the kid that something was off. The kid didn’t get calls, he didn’t need to be home, he was closed off and quite most of the time. He didn’t want to ask Jughead about it before, he was afraid that he would be running the boy away.

  
Plus, Archie seemed so happy to have Jug in his life and Fred really didn’t want to scare the kid away.

  
But, something was off and he needed to know. He wanted to make sure that Archie wasn’t getting involved with someone that was trouble. He didn’t want to make assumptions about the boy, because he hated doing that without giving him a chance.

  
Jughead was odd, there was no getting around that, but Fred knew his last name from high school.

  
Jones.

  
FP Jones most likely. The boy had the same looks, the same, but hopefully not the same ways. FP was a bad guy, slept around a lot and got into a lot of bad things that Fred needed to get away from. He left his friend behind and never spoke to him again, and now his son was sitting on his floor, shaking with what seemed to be fear.

  
“Do you wanna talk about it?”

  
Jug looked up at him in shock. No one ever wanted to bother with his thoughts or feelings. He didn’t want to say anything about his father though, not to some adult that had to tell someone about what his dad was doing. Fred would have to tell someone and everything would change. Things couldn’t change.

  
He just can’t do it, not yet.

  
“No, no it’s okay, it was nothing.”

  
He took a deep breath and put on his best smile.

  
“I’m fine.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I’m so sorry that this took so long to get up. It’s not my best and it’s short but I need some more time to think of where to take this story.


	9. UPDATE

first, i am so sorry that i haven't touched this fucking thing.   
i fell into a really depressive state and started therapy again, its really tough and i dont really like it but whatever.  
second, my tumblr got deleted and i cannot sign back in, so for the person i was talking to and was giving me prompts, I AM SO SORRY I DID NOT DROP YOU!!!!  
My new account is spreadmeonyourtoastbitch  
aggressive i know.   
i am going to try and get this going again, please be patient with me, i am writing something else right now as well.  
i am so sorry guys, i feel like shit, i feel like garbage, im so sorry, im sorry i disappointing yall, i didnt want to.   
stay safe loves.


	10. Maybe nothing at all would be better

He doesn't remember the night very well, just that Fred had come in the room and helped him through his nightmare, which, yikes. Archie hadn’t really said anything about it in the morning, in fact he seemed to have avoided it, something that only stirred fear in Jughead. Fear was something that he had enough on his own, he didn’t need anything added to it. 

Jughead didn’t acknowledge the whole episode when he woke up and went downstairs to get some coffee, he kept his head down and took to not talking to either of the Andrews’ men. It was easier to ignore problems most of the time, and if that didn’t work, Jug usually just ran away. 

No one ever came after him anyway. 

That day he spent most of his time in Archie’s room doing homework that he hadn’t bothered with. He knew that keeping up his grades was about the only thing that he could control so he made a point to do his best at all times. Most kids in his grade could care less, but it got to a point where Jughead had to care about something, if not his life, then his grades. 

Maybe he could be something if he was at least smart. anything at least his grades. If he couldn’t be enough for anyone at least he could have good grades. 

Archie spent most of the day by Jughead’s side, not willing to leave the boy when he seemed to be in a fragile state of mind. Most of his time was spent on his phone or watching the office on his TV in his room. Jughead appreciated the concern that Archie had for him, but he didn’t want to be seen as someone that needed help, that needed protecting. Even though it seemed clear to everyone that he needed that. 

As the day came to the end, Jughead’s phone went off. It’s not that he was worried about his phone ringing, but it still confused him. No one ever called him, or texted him, and if someone did it was usually Archie. Archie who was sitting right next to him and had no reason to text him or call him.

Sighing, Jug reached for his phone and picked it up, turning it over and letting the screen illuminate his face. 

Well shit. 

It was his dad of all people. 

FP was the last person that Jughead wanted to talk to at that moment. He was still on edge from the night before and the problems that took place, his mind was still reeling from trauma. His dad was not someone that he wanted to interact with. 

With a huff, he rolled out of bed and kissed Archie’s cheek as he walked out into the hallway. He swiped the bar on the bottom of the phone and brought the phone to his ear. 

“Hey dad. Is everything okay?” 

If there was any reason his dad was calling him, it would be because something was wrong or he needs something. Like more beer. Or another pack of cigarettes. 

“I don’t know. You tell me Jughead. Where are you right now?” 

Shit. Shit shit shit shit. 

There was no way his dad could possibly know where he was. FP didn’t track him and Jughead didn’t tell anyone around the trailer park where he was going. He didn’t have anyone to tell, no one actually cared so it was pointless. 

“Um, I’m at a friends. I didn’t think that I would need to tell you that I was going over.”

FP made a disinterested noise.

“You don’t need to tell me, I don’t care, but I do care when I get a call from a old high school friend, saying that you’re staying at his house right now.”

Well fuck. That couldn’t be good. How the fuck was Jughead supposed to know that FP and Fred were once friends in high school. He’s not a genius or anything. Fred never said anything and he never seemed to mind Jughead’s presence. 

Why would he call Jughead’s dad? 

Had Jug done something wrong? Something that Fred wasn’t okay with? 

Did Fred want him gone now that he knew he was FP Jones’ son? 

“Jughead!” 

He took a deep breath and brought his phone back up to his ear.

“Um… yeah I didn’t know that you guys knew each other. I’m friends with his son, Archie, and he wanted me to stay over for a few nights. Did he say why he called?” 

FP laughed coldly. 

“He just wanted to make sure you weren’t a shit ton of trouble like I was apparently. You won’t last there Jughead, you’ll come back here sometime soon. That redhead boy, he’ll drop you just like his dad did to me. It isn’t worth trying to be like those northside kids Jug. You’re nothing compared to them. Get your head out of the clouds boy.”

Jughead gulped. So Fred thought that he was going to be a form trouble. Which granted, is fair. Jughead isn’t like any of Archie’s other friends. He’s from the south side and he doesn’t even have shoes that fit his feet without squeezing them too tightly. His clothes were from the thrift store and some of them still had stains or holes in them. He was too different from Archie and his picket fence lifestyle. 

He was only dreaming, thinking that he could possibly fit in here. Be like Archie. Be wanted and loved. It was foolish, and frankly stupid. Jughead really needed to start using his brain again, otherwise he would end up dead somewhere.

Honestly it wouldn’t be that bad if he did end up dead. He’d be okay with it, and surely everyone else would be fine with it. 

“Right um… I’m sorry that he called you dad, I’m sure that he was just checking. I’m not causing any trouble. I’ll be home at some point.”

He could hear the sound of a beer bottle being opened on the other side of the phone. FP grunted. 

“Whatever, don’t rush home. I don’t need you fag ass back here. Find somewhere else to stay if you get kicked to the curb.”

With that the line went dead and Jug sighed. He pocketed his phone and walked slowly back to Archie’s room. 

The redhead was conked out on the bed, his phone in his hand, nearly about to fall off the bed. 

Jughead carefully plugged the boy’s phone in so it wouldn’t be dead when he woke up, and he crawled over the taller boy. 

Arch shuffled in his sleep and dragged Jughead into his grasp, pulling him against his chest. 

Jug stiffened up at the touch but carefully relaxed, reminding himself that it was just Archie. Archie wouldn’t be hurting him anytime soon. Neither would Fred. The older man didn’t mean any harm by calling FP, he just wanted to make sure that Jughead wasn’t going to cause a wreck or hurt Archie in any way. It’s just a fatherly thing to do. It’s what someone does when they love someone unconditionally.

That was something that Jughead never got to experience before. 

He didn't know love. 

Even as he laid there in Archie’s arms, warm and safe, curled up in Archie’s sweater that was way too long on him. Even then, Jughead didn’t know if he was loved, or even cared for. He just wasn’t sure. 

It was too hard to believe that someone could love a fuck up like Jughead Jones. 

After all, no one wants a damaged faggot. 

That’s all he was. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading! This is just a filler chapter and that's why it isn't very good. I'm sorry.  
> I'm really trying to get back into my writing mode, and I'm hoping that putting something out there right now will help.   
> Also Listening to Conan Gray's new album is helping me write, so everyone thank Conan.   
> I LOVE HIM.   
> Stay safe loves, now more than ever.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! This is going to be a multi chapter fic, and I hope y’all stick with me throughout it. I haven’t wrote any Jarchie Fics in forever. I’m so excited.


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